Synchronized Kittens
I especially like how one of them manages to yawn right in the middle of the "routine."
Via GeekPress
Live to see it.
April 25, 2008
April 04, 2008
If you have the means...
...I highly recommend picking one up.
Yes, this car is for real. H/T Mental Floss.
January 18, 2008
What the Heck Was THAT?
Just got home from watching Cloverfield, the much anticipated new monster movie from producer J. J. Abrams. Stephen and special guest Tobias Buckell and I speculated a little about this movie on a recent FFR. We had a few questions:
1. What exactly is the monster?
2. Will the monster ever be shown?
3. Once it is shown, won't it all be sort of a let down?
I'm very pleased to report that the answers to these questions are:
1. Beats the heck out of me.
2. More or less.
3. Nope.
I'm also pleased to report that Cloverfield does not disappoint on any level. The closest I came to being disappointed by the film was in seeing, very near the end, about five seconds more of the monster than I really wanted. But in this age of movies that hit us over the head, across the shoulders, down the middle, and back up again by every possible angle of every variation of every fantastic image we could never even hope to imagine, the thing that impresses me most about Cloverfield's treatment of its subject is summed up in one magic word: restraint.
By limiting the POV to what can be seen through the viewfinder of a handheld camcorder, director Matt Reeves has given us an up-close and in-your-face, at times almost claustrophobic, victim's-eye view of a city under siege by Some Great Big Thing.
Think Godzilla meets the Blair Witch.
Even so, the movie is neither sparing with its shocks nor parsimonious with its special effects. Once the action starts, you're hooked. I was quite literally on the edge of my seat several times during the brief 90 minutes or so that Cloverfield requires to tell its tale.
Although the action is all limited to what goes on in a single camcorder, the story involves us in several plot lines, and even manages to pull off a credible flashback sequence which frames the main narrative. There is nothing particularly deep or complex about the soap-opera lives of the beautiful young people on whom this adventure falls, but I have to admit that I got so caught up in their personal drama in the first 10-15 minutes of the movie that it almost came as a shock when the first KAPOW! hit and suddenly I was watching a monster movie.
I won't say anymore. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. Okay, except one thing: a number of disgruntled teenagers in my immediate vicinity were highly disappointed by the ending, one even claiming he was going to ask for his money back. All I can tell you is that the end of the movie is clearly spelled out both in the opening frames of the film and in the trailer that I'm sure we've all seen by now.
To quote another highly entertaining film: are you watching closely?
Anyhow, go see Cloverfield. You'll like it.
January 07, 2008
Speaking of Zombies
...which we were, in fact, doing -- on the most recent FFR -- here's a thorough roundup of some of the best zombies ever.
December 22, 2007
'Tis the Season for Geek Gift-Giving
It's not too late to get something just right for that special geeky someone on your list. J. Random American presents the definitive list over on Ideas in Progress. I especially liked this one for college-age or older geeks:
TOP CHOICE: TECHNICAL CLUB OR PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP
Geeks are sometimes stereotyped as loners. Any technically demanding activity, however, requires a social support structure for exchanging ideas and expertise. These technical clubs and societies are also important for making friends with common interests, finding mentors to provide advice and moral support, and making connections for doing business and smoothing career advancement. Membership in at least one technical society or club in a geek's field of interest is a huge asset if they take advantage of it for more than just the free newsletter. Encourage college aged geeks to join their professional society or hobby club by offering to pay for their membership fee. Fortunately most professional societies offer discounts for student membership. There are hobby clubs for just about every possible avocation. Here is a partial list of professional societies in engineering and science. If you really want to splurge, pay their way to a convention, swap-meet, or conference on their favorite pass-time.
If that's a little more expensive than you were planning on, J. has gift suggestions to meet any budget or level of geekiness.
I would also recommend the following, via InstaPundit:
At last, reading material that is entertaining, thought-provoking, AND useful. How can you beat that?
December 11, 2007
Age Is No Excuse
I'm 45. What have I done with my life? A thing or two. But if I ever start thinking that 45 is too old to accomplish something, I need to remember
At age 45:
Andre Marie Ampere, a French physicist, discovered the rules relating magnetic fields and electric currents.
George Foreman recaptured the heavyweight championship with a 10th round knockout, becoming the oldest person ever to win the heavyweight championship.
Earl Vickers created a program for displaying things other people accomplished when they were your age.
John Vida quit a 3-pack-a-day smoking habit. As of six years later, he hasn't had a single drag off a cigarette or any other smoking utensil.
Cora Judd overcame a debilitating, lifelong aversion to math by taking three semesters of math classes at the local community college.
And the list goes on and on.
So whatever your age, no excuses.
Via GeekPress.
November 14, 2007
No 24 or Trek Spoilers Here
I mean, everybody already knows that, in the new season, CTU has been shut down and that Tony Almeda is still alive and -- apparently -- evil. What? You didn't know that? Well, those are still not spoilers, seeing as all those facts are revealed in the previews that Fox has been showing for weeks now. So get caught up already.
Actually, that may be easier said than done. I went to Fox.com looking for the previews so I could link them here and all I could find was a video of Keifer Sutherland lecturing me about global warming. Plus, it looks like the season premiere will be delayed due to the writer's strike -- confirming my long-held suspicion that there is no master plan for 24; they're making it up as they go along.
Anyhow, one of my favorite things about 24 is these little moments when Chloe will say, "Here, Jack, I've accessed the full electrical schematic for LAX," and Jack says "Upload that to my PDA," and then it's like -- Zip! Jack has the schematic. Yeah. Right. If you get as big a kick out of that sort of thing as I do, then you are sure to enjoy the unaired 1994 pilot for 24.
Via GeekPress, who also provides the following spoiler-laden link with this warning:
If you don't want to know the plot to the Star Trek 11 movie, then don't click here.
I really don't want to follow the link, but I'm concerned about what I've been hearing about this movie. Could somebody who isn't all that into Star Trek please do me a favor and follow the link, then leave a comment letting me know that they aren't really going to have Kirk, Spock, and McCoy (much less the other four) all attending Star Fleet Academy at the same time -- which makes no sense, based on their various ages. That might be enough of a show-stopper to keep me from going to see it, J. J. Abrams notwithstanding.
Fascinating. It seems that they can actually change our past, Captain. But to meddle in established history in this manner would be most illogical.
If you do follow the link and want to send me a message of reassurance -- or warning -- please put an appropriate spoiler warning on your comment.
October 25, 2007
Well That's Just Ridiculous
Nolan Bushnell, the man who founded Atari, is described here as taking the position that, where video games are concerned, it's all been downhill since Pong. Of course, he doesn't really say any such thing, and with good reason.
Everybody knows that it's all been downhill since QBert.
September 05, 2007
Subscription Model for iTunes
Stephen has been arguing for some time that the trouble with iTunes is that allows only a 99-cents-a-pop ownership model of music rather than an all-you-can-eat rental model such as that provided by Napster.
Glenn Derene at Popular Mechanics is picking up the cause:
Nevertheless, the all-you-can-eat subscription model should work, and it would certainly make sense for real music lovers—the more music you listen to, the cheaper the overall cost per song becomes. What’s more, subscription certainly works for Netflix, which continues to grow with streaming subscription on demand. So why do users still want to pay 99 cents per song and not, say, $15 for a month’s worth of infinite songs? Would the iTunes Store work just as well as a subscription service?
On the other hand, if Apple does stick with a purchase-only pricing policy, they may venture beyond the "everything costs $.99" model:
Which brings us to another of the big ideas circulating around the music industry these days: popularity pricing. This model makes the cost of each song scalable depending on demand—a song by a niche indie band could cost 40 cents while a song by a big act such as U2 would sell for $1.50. Letting the market drive pricing could be a good idea or a horribly bad one. In the Internet realm, where a world of illegal, free material is only a few mouse clicks away, high-priced content can become an incentive for bad behavior.
It will be interesting to see where Apple goes with these various licensing options. I'd certainly like to see them adopt something a little more Netflix-like for video content. I love being able to load TV shows and movies down to my iPod, but this is where, to me, both the price and the notion of "ownership" seem excessive. And apparently they strike Apple as being excessive, too. I note that as I've been working my way through Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica, iTunes removes each episode I've watched from my iPod. All the episodes are all still there in my iTunes on the computer, should I decide to load them back onto the iPod, but what are the chances I'm going to do that? Apple is tacitly admitting that this is content I would not necessarily want permanent, ongoing access to.
So why sell it to me, then? Why not just let me rent it? I think Stephen is on to something, here.
August 14, 2007
Hellawhack Shiznit
While in Las Vegas last week, I caught the Blue Man Group show at the Venetian. If you like percussion music, quasi-scatological humor, and some truly unique blending of art and technology, it's a show you won't want to miss. Here's a quick trip into the human brain:
You have to play it loud to start to get the idea, but even that won't get you very close. Imagine the music pulsing through you, and the lights and images overwhelming your entire field of vision. The experience is hard to describe.
Overall, I was impressed by the amount of science content that made its way into the show. And I was intrigued by the Blue Man characters. What are they? Robots? Aliens? Some kind of posthuman genetic offshoot? We are free to speculate.
Parts of the show actually kind of reminded me of this. And that's high praise.
May 31, 2007
I Don't Think This Is Historically Accurate
I mean, it may have happened more or less like this, but I've never seen an IT help desk guy with so much patience and so little attitude. But then, it was a long time ago:
Via GeekPress.
May 24, 2007
When I'm Wrong, I'm Wrong
I grumbled to myself early in the season, complained openly at midseason, but for some reason never canceled my Tivo season pass and kept catching up on each episode of Lost.
Okay, I was wrong. It's still stupid not to know the difference between Thai and Chinese, but I'm ready to give the creators the benefit of the doubt even at that point. There really is more going on here than meets the eye. I don't think I'm spoiling anything when I say that what I took to be a "filler" episode was actually part of an elaborate set-up. In fact, the structure of each episode of all three seasons of the show have been a set-up leading us to this season-finale payoff.
SPOILERS AHEAD
I won't rehash the plot or talk about who died -- we all knew that was coming, anyway. Hugo had his finest moment, ever, coming to the rescue in his VW van. The previews showed us who Jack was saying "I love you" to, but it was still a surprise. I assumed the preview was giving us clever editing to fake us out. Nope.
Of course, the big clincher was the "flashback" sequence which turned out to be a flash-forward. Or maybe it's the real time sequence, and everything we've seen on the island has been a flashback. Either way, wow.
Here's a question to work on over the summer...whose funeral did Jack go to? He said he was "neither a friend nor family" yet he seemed pretty upset when he found the death notice in the newspaper. Kate seemed surprised that he would even consider the possibility that she would go to the funeral.
Was it Michael? Locke? Ben?
Also, who was Kate with? "He's waiting for me." For some reason, I'm thinking it isn't Sawyer.
Anyhow, I'm intrigued once again. And I look forward to getting answers to some of these questions...years and years from now.
May 20, 2007
Are Wii Having Fun Yet?
Actually...yeah.
My oldest son recently had his 10th birthday. Somehow we found a Wii video game console to buy for him. It was meant to be his present. But the whole family is enjoying it. The included disc of games - Wii Sports - is incredible. Bowling, Tennis, Baseball, Golf, and Boxing are all included. You've probably played video game versions of these sports before, but interacting with the actual physical motions of the game is a far cry from a joystick.
For example, when I Bowl - in the real world - the Bowling ball tends to curve slightly left. I compensate by moving right. My wife's ball rolls straight. Amazingly, when we Bowl with the Wii it's the same. I have to start from the right of the lane while she rolls right down the middle. That's how well the experience is simulated.
If only all Wii games were this good. The interaction in Wii Tiger Woods Golf is inferior to WiiSports Golf. Even within WiiSports there's a good deal of difference in the quality of the simulations. WiiSport Boxing is not nearly as good as Bowling.
With this much variation in the quality of the games, it's good to have some guidance on what games to buy. I'm using metacritic.com. It averages the professional game critic reviews into a single score. I plan to buy most of the games at the top of their list (a "green" score of 75 or better).
The Wii comes with a single Wii-mote. You'll want a second remote right away. One good way to get one is to purchase the "Wii Play" package. It includes billiards, ping-pong, a shooting game, a hillarious cow racing game, and a second Wii Remote.
The Wii does more than play Wii games. It is backward capatible with the Nintendo Game Cube. The Game Cube lost the 6th generation video game battle to the Playstation 2 and the X-box. Which is a shame because the Game Cube was a solid little system that had some worthwhile exclusive titles. Our family has had fun trying out some of those games since we got the Wii. I've found several good titles for $10 each. "From Russia With Love" is retro-cool. And check out this list of the top 25 Game Cube games.
The Wii is equipped with a WiFi modem. If you already have WiFi in your home getting on the Internet with the Wii is as simple as turning the modem on in the options. Then you'll want to immediately log on to the Wii Shopping Channel and download the Internet channel. Its a free download of an Opera-based web browser. Don't forget to add "The Speculist" to your favorites.
If Nintendo (or a developer) ever offers a Wii keyboard, I'll probably blog from this thing.
The Forecast Channel is a great way to get a fast five day weather forecast. The News Channel could use some work. How about some video with that? It would be an easy addition. Youtube and several other video services work fine via The Internet Channel.
The Shopping Channel also sells selected games from all previous Nintendo Systems, and some Sega systems. They're a little overpriced. When there's no packaging or delivery costs and the game is old, why should it cost $8-$10? Oh well. I still bought a couple of old favorites - Donkey Kong Country and Mario 64. I guess that makes me part of the problem.
Phil recently suggested that the Wii could be marketed primarily as exercise equipment. I'm not sure if that strategy would sell more Wii's, but I can say that it's possible to break a sweat - especially with WiiSports boxing. Wrist and ankle weights really add to the challenge. A smart developer would do well with a fun, exercise-centric offering.
There's more, but the bottom line (my opinion, no flames please) is that the Wii is more fun and cheaper than the other seventh-generation alternatives. I predict that Nintendo will gain back much of the share it lost in the last generation. And this is good. We don't want to lose another console contender (like Sega). And it'll be nice to see gutsy innovation rewarded.
If you need more convincing, check out this hilarious (not safe for work) spoof advertisement.
April 27, 2007
Tibetan Personality Test
I'm supposed to send this out to a number of people equal to pi -- take it and you'll see how that came about. Rather than jamming up any more mailboxes, I thought I would just share it here, with a few caveats:
1. I don't think it really reveals anything about your personality.
2. I bet the Dali Lama knows nothing about this thing, and if he did he would think it was a load of crapola.
3. Speaking of crap, there's this neighborhood cat who has been doing his business in our yard against the will of both myself and my dogs; I think that fact has a lot more to do with how I responded to one of the questions than any secret feelings I might have towards anyone.
4. I note that two of the colors mean essentially the same thing. Or maybe there is a very subtle difference between the two. I don't know, either the "Tibetan" "monk" who came up with this thing is kinda lazy, or I just don't have the spiritual chops to make these important distinctions.
All right then, with that out of the way, who wants to take the...
Amazing Tibetan Personality Test?
An actual image from Tibet
One final thought: Okay, I might sound a little cynical and skeptical about this thing, but the truth is that my getting everything I ever wanted in life depends on 15 or more of you taking it. So come on! Did I mention that it's amazing?
April 02, 2007
I've Got Nothing Against Julianne Moore
...but this is just so wrong:
Moore to play Scully in X-Files sequel
Hot on the heels of David Duchovny’s comments that the next “X-Files” movie is being brokered as we speak comes news from CarterEsque.com that co-star Gillian Anderson – who has played his sciency subordinate since the series’ commencement in 1993 – has opted out of the new film.
Reports say Twentieth Century Fox is now in talks with Julianne Moore to replace Anderson as Agent Dana Scully. A deal is expected to be made before the end of the month.
Anderson, whose star has risen considerably in the past couple of years (she recently appeared in the Oscar Winning “King of Scotland”), says via her reps that “[X-Files] has been a wonderful experience, and I will always cherish my time on the series [and] the film, but the time has come to move on - I just don’t believe I can bring anything more to the character at this point. I wish the filmmakers my heartfelt best”.
How can she do this to us?
Gillian Anderson, you have broken my heart. I say they scrap the whole thing. Why go on with it? The Lone Gunmen are dead. Scully won't be Scully. Just get rid of Duchovny, cast Jude Law as the lead, and call the characters (and the movie) something else. Because that will not be the X-Files.
March 08, 2007
I, For One, Kind of Like Techno
But then I've made no secret of the fact that I heartily welcome our new robot overlords.
February 08, 2007
Optical Illusions
Check these out. This one is more your garden variety amazing eye trick.
Whereas this one is just...astounding.
How much of what we see is just an illusion? Not a delusion, mind you -- we're really seeing something that's there -- but it's so heavily processed by our brains that what we're seeing just isn't what we're seeing.
Makes you wonder!
(Via Healthbolt.)
January 15, 2007
My Daughter, the Jedi
Note how deftly she dispatches the dread Sith:
How he got in the garage and what his intentions were, we don't know.
I did point out to my young heroine that proper lightsabre form is all about slicing; to stab one's opponent in that manner is not the Jedi way. She responded that her boyfriend's shoestring production company doesn't have the SFX budget to show limbs being lopped off.
So, you know. Touché.
January 06, 2007
Children of Men
Went to see Children of Men this afternoon. It was better than I expected it to be. I guess I was expecting some kind of rehash of The Handmaid's Tale with a little Blade Runner and Soylent Green thrown in. And, now that I set it out that way, I guess that is pretty much what the movie delivered.
I don't have a lot of time for dystopias. I think the future we're in for will be much more discontinuous from the present than most dystopic images of the future allow. Nor do I think that optimistic portrayals of the future (e.g., Star Trek) come particularly close, either. My take is as follows: if it's good, the future will be great beyond imagining. If bad, it will mean that there's no movie to be made -- at least not one with human characters -- because we won't have lived to see it.
[Spoilers ahead.]
Although not a plausible one, the future that COM portrays is one in which humanity is up against total elimination. Women have stopped conceiving -- no explanation is given as to how this happened -- and the species is dying out. This has apparently caused tremendous political upheaval. The story takes place in the UK in 2027, and the UK is a total mess. But apparently, it's in better shape than most other countries (there's an offhand reference to the "siege of Seattle" entering it's 800th day.)
So even with what must be a rapidly dwindling population, the British government is dealing with an enormous illegal immigration problem. Or are they? They government has adopted the brutal practices of a 20th-century police state in handling illegal immigrants. The ubiquitous propaganda about how it's everyone's responsibility to turn in illegals raises the question of whether there is really a resource (or other) problem at all. How are these people a threat, exactly? It is suggested that brutalizing the "fujis" (I think it's short for "fugitives" or "refugees") is just a huge distraction in the face of the imminent end of civilization.
I haven't read the book, but based on the synopsis of it provided here, it sounds like the "illegal immigration" and "homeland security" aspects of the story were introduced in order to draw parallels to current political controversies, and possibly to suggest that we currently live in a police state in the US. Okay, then. Whatever.
But in spite of the implausible premise and heavy-handed political crapola, it's a compelling story. A cell of a radical group opposed to the government immigration policy has somehow stumbled upon the world's first pregnant woman in 20 years. Clive Owen has the task of trying to get her to the coast, where she may be retrieved by a mysterious group called The Human Foundation, who (if they actually do exist) are a band of scientists working on solving the problem of impending human extinction. It's a harrowing journey, involving a good deal of suspense, at least one truly inventive chase, and some combat scenes reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan.
What makes the movie worthwhile for me is a scene near the end, where utter chaos and brutality give way, just for a moment, to respect -- if not awe -- for human life. In a similar scenario in our world, they probably wouldn't give way: not even for one second. But I was ready to believe that in that particular future, they would.
It's a reminder that, in our world and in whatever future we may experience, life is something to be valued, to be esteemed, to be in awe of. And that is a pretty good thing to be reminded of.
December 20, 2006
Speaking of Christmas...
Anybody see anything you like? We owned a Wonder Wizard -- I thought it was the most amazing thing ever invented. Have had a few of the others listed along the way. And, per a recent comment, I will consider the latest item shown as soon as they make it compatible with real sporting equipment.
November 20, 2006
Casino Royale
If you've ever enjoyed any incarnation of James Bond – particularly Connery - you owe it to yourself to see Casino Royale as soon as possible.
It's almost as if the Bond series went to rehab and purged its system of all ridiculous toxins, but Casino Royale is more than just that; it's lean and hungry once again, as if it were totally reborn.
This one is not for children. It is a very hard PG-13. Really, it should have been an "R." But that's good news for anyone who is a fan of James Bond as he was originally written - escapism but with a serious, hard edge.
November 17, 2006
Astounding Prescience
It was more of a fantasy than a prediction, but talk about hitting the nail on the head.
September 04, 2006
We'll Miss You, Mate
He was a showboat who took unnecessary risks, but he also seemed to be a genuinely nice guy who loved his family and who had a great love and enthusiasm for the natural world.
Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter, dead at 44 from a stingray barb to the chest. He'll be missed.
August 31, 2006
This Day in History
Selected dates from the Wikipedia article, with a few key annotations.
1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora dies suddenly without children to succeed the throne, ending the Macedonian dynasty.
1864 - American Civil War: Union forces led by General William T. Sherman launch an assault on Atlanta, Georgia.
1888 - Mary Ann Nichols is murdered. She is the first of Jack the Ripper's known victims.
1920 - First news radio program broadcast in Detroit, Michigan.
1939 - Nazi Germany mounts a staged attack on Gleiwitz radio station, giving them an excuse to attack Poland the following day, starting World War II in Europe.
1957 - The Federation of Malaya gains its independence from the United Kingdom. Selamat Hari Merdaka!
1962 - Trinidad and Tobago become independent; blogger Phil Bowermaster born.
1980 - The Solidarity trade union is formed in Poland; blogger Phil Bowermaster celebrates 18th birthday
1992 - Pascal Lissouba is inaugurated as the President of the Republic of the Congo; blogger Phil Bowermaster turns 30.
1997 - Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a car crash in Paris; blogger Phil Bowermaster gets the news while celebrating his 35th birthday in Port Dixon, Malaysia over the Merdaka Day weekend.
2006 - Stolen on August 22, 2004, Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream was recovered from a raid by Norwegian police. The paintings were said to be in a better-than-expected condition. Blogger Phil Bowermaster turns 44.
August 02, 2006
Drop Whatever it is You're Doing
...and read this.
Here, at last, via GeekPress -- The 25 Most Important Questions in the History of the Universe. And, yes, the Karate Chimp video really does relate.
July 26, 2006
Virtual VR
The technology isn't quite there yet to provide true virtual vacations, but that's not stopping a Russian company from offering what is arguably the next best thing:
Russians Enjoy 'Total Recall'-Style Fake VacationsPersey Tours, a travel agency in Moscow, was a failure at offering real tours. It has achieved success in recent months, however, by offering fake vacations instead.
For just 13,460 rubles (about $500 in American currency), Persey Tours will sell you all of the stuff you would expect to have after your exotic vacation: faked ticket stubs, hotel receipts and even photos with your picture professionally superimposed on exotic landmarks.
Just give Dmitry a call; he even faked a trip to the moon for $2,000 - the fake trip of a lifetime for a Siberian gas station owner who wanted to fly to the moon on Russian space craft.
I wonder what your $2000 gest you? I would think that a pretty convincing fake trip to the moon could be had for a lot less than that. Looks to me like the fake vacation business is wide open to some serious competition.
July 18, 2006
Lots of Time on Their Hands
Wow. And I used to think I wasted time playing Space Invaders...
NOTE: The video is no longer available. It was a reasonable facsimile of a Space Invaders game, with students occupying auditorium chairs serving as the pixels that made up the display.
But imagine how time-consuming this would have been if they had made it the way it looks like they made it -- stop-action animation. If that is in fact how they did it -- I think there are some parents out there wasting an awful lot of tuition money.
Via GeekPress
July 15, 2006
The World Has Changed
When I was a kid, the potential audience for humiliation was much smaller. Today, any stupid thing you ever do can be viewed by millions.
Case in point:
The video shows a lone, overweight teenager fighting a mock battle with a broomstick lightsaber. In the two-minute video, the teenager twirls the broomstick ever more energetically while generating his own lightsaber sound effects. The video, which is obviously not for public consumption, is amusing and excruciating.
On the other hand, there is also a nice upside to automated mass humiliation. These guys have taken pity and are working to help our lightsaber artist out. I'm thinking I might send the kid a few bucks myself.
UPDATE: I didn't check the date when I stumbled upon the Wired story. Apparently this is a few years old (with your erstwhile reporter on top of things as usual.) Lots more details here. The kid dropped out of school due to the humiliation. The fund-raiser mentioned in Wired earned him a 30 GB iPod and $2600 cash.
June 22, 2006
Apparently Not Kidding About the "Forever" Part
The Duke Nukem Forever list is amusing in concept. It tries to put some perspective on how much time has passed -- via how many major events have occured -- in the time since 3d Realms announced that the game was under development. It also lists some major accomplishments that have taken less time than the development of a single game.
Of course, the joke is only so funny if you know that 3D Realms died out years ago, development of the game halted, and there never will be a Duke Nukem forever. In that case, the list is just an exercise in ironic existential angst -- like keeping a watch going for when Fox is going to take The Chevy Chase Show out of hiatus.
But that's not the case. 3D Realms is a going concern. And according to this page, they do intend to release Duke Nukem Forever, although they can't say exactly when. In fact, the lack of closure appears to be a point of perverse pride for them:
The release date of this game is "When it's done". Anything else, and we mean is someone's speculation. There is no date. We don't know anydate. If you have a friend who claims they have "inside info", or there's some game news site, or some computer store at the mall who claims they know - they do not. They are making it up. There is no date. Period.
And yes, we know the game has taken a long time. There's no possible joke you could make about the game's development time that we haven't already heard. :)
(Futuristic Blink Effect from the original.)
Astounding.
Now, if this were a major contruction project requiring taxpayer money, this is the kind of approach one would expect. Such projects are designed to take as long as possible in order to keep the money flowing. But that's not how the computer game business (ordinarily) works.
There must be a lesson to be learned from all this, but I'm not sure what it is. On the one hand, in an era when technology has greatly accelerated the speed with which things like computer games can be developed, and at a time where more and more seems to be happening faster and faster, it's almost kind of refreshing to see this "we have all the time in the world" approach to life.
On the other hand, my heart goes out to any woman who has accepted a marriage proposal from one of these guys.
And then there's this: one of them is going to wake up some fine morning and realize that he's an old man who spent a major chunk of his life developing a single computer game. In which case, we have to hope -- for his sake -- that it's one hell of a game.
Similarly, this story provides an opportunity to examine our own lives. Do we have our own DNF's -- projects that linger on for years with no end in sight, which seem unlikely in the end to provide a return sufficient to the time and effort they have demanded?
But maybe that's not the issue. Maybe what these guys really like to do is to develop games. Releasing and selling them are kind of a drag, so they just skip that part.
Maybe the journey is the reward.
June 20, 2006
Only One Moving Part
A few have inquired as to when, exactly, I intend to publish the promised description of my sledge hammer workout. The workout is still not ready for prime time; however, there is a wealth of good sledge hammer information to be found online if one but looks.
June 17, 2006
New and Improved Prediction Site
I have made some major updates to our future prediction application. The new app supports categorizing predictions by topic, type, and item, allowing you to create new types and items. (If you have suggestions for new topics, e-mail me or leave a comment on this entry.)
Additionally, you can rate each prediction on a 1-10 scale for probability, impact, and goodness. I decided on the word "goodness" rather than desirability because...well, because it's goodness. Also, each prediction now carries its own discussion thread. Leaving comments on L2si / Time Highway may prove easier than leaving them on the Speculist. Give it a try!
Anyone who wants to can create a prediction on any topic. These are subject to moderation, and I will remove anything that I personally deem to be:
1. A duplicate of an existing prediction
2. An advertisement
3. A personal attack
3. Overly vulgar or profane. (How vulgar / profane is "overly?" If in doubt, tone it down.)
There are now many ways to navigate the predictions -- by category and by ranking as well as by how frequently viewed. It's a whole new ball game.
So what are you waiting for? Get in there and start building the future.
Please note: this is the second beta version of this application. I do intend to keep improving it. Your feedback here or using the app's comment system will be appreciated.
UPDATE: Looks like you need a Ning account in order to make ratings. (Sign up! It's quick and free.) But you can make predictions or comments without one.
June 15, 2006
The Movie We've All Been Waiting For
Catch it on YouTube before the inevitable legal threats bring it down.
June 10, 2006
Killer Rabbit
We all know the bit:
Tim: There he is!
King Arthur: Where?
Tim: There!
King Arthur: What? Behind the rabbit?
Tim: It *is* the rabbit!
King Arthur: You silly sod!
Tim: What?
King Arthur: You got us all worked up!
Tim: Well, that's no ordinary rabbit.
King Arthur: Ohh.
Tim: That's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on!
Who's laughing now, I wonder?
June 07, 2006
Flying Dude
May 31, 2006
This Got Me Thinking
Via GeekPress, here is a tremedous breakthrough in exercise equipment:
Cordless jump-rope can help the clumsy
WASHINGTON - If you think keeping fit is merely mind over matter, Lester Clancy has an invention for you — a cordless jump-rope. That's right, a jump-rope minus the rope. All that's left is two handles, so you jump over the pretend rope. Or if you are truly lazy, you can pretend to jump over the pretend rope.
This is a great idea, but jump-ropes are kind of last century. What about a more upscale and hip piece of equipment -- say, a weightless, invisible pilates ball? People would shell out big bucks for that one. Or for those who really want to go all-out: how about a silent, invisible personal trainer? He'll help you out for $250 per hour. Call me if you're interested.
May 30, 2006
Looks Like Racial Profiling to Me
But read the headline and judge for yourselves.
May 17, 2006
They're Perfect Physical Specimens
Argue if you like, but I heard it on a podcast, so it must be true. Anyway, they have an interview with Seth Roberts, author of the Shangri-La Diet, which I never got around to reading last weekend -- and probably won't be perusing over my vacation next week.
All in all, very interesting stuff. Oilive oil and sugar water as the key to weight loss. Also, something about the flavor of food making you fat.
Wait, can I have possibly read that right?
He claims that he lost weight in Paris because the food tasted different. The author of this book might offer a different possible reason.
May 08, 2006
They're Made out of Meat
Terry Bisson's hilarious (yet poignant) short-short story is now a movie, available online.
The video is wonderful, but as is almost always the case...the "book" is better.
May 04, 2006
Four for the Road
Caught a little TV last night; watched Alias and Lost back-to-back. One of those shows is in the process of winding down for the season; the other is in the process of winding down for good. Both dabble pretty heavily in science fiction themes, which would have been notable a few years ago for "serious" "mainstream" "dramas" (not really sure what those terms mean these days).
On Lost, the real nut of the strangeness is not the technology -- although there are some peculiar things going on -- but just the sheer audacity of the coincidences that drive the story. The longer the show goes, the more outrageous these become. Alias, on the other hand, gets deep enough into the technology that we can see that it's preposterous. I've got nothing against the whole Rambaldi story arc; an ancient manuscript with secrets relevant to a modern crisis is a fun plot device. (Full disclosure: it's something I've used in my own fiction.) Silly, but fun. Now, the business about implanting one person's mind-map onto another person's brain, or giving this woman a bath in some pink DNA-diffused substance and having her come out looking like this...well, it's all a bit much. The show probably jumped the shark somewhere in the middle of last season, so it's probably just as well that they're wrapping it up.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Another major difference between these two shows and the kind of fare that used to make up prime time viewing is the tendency to kill off major recurring characters. (I noted this tendency in 24 a while back.) So last night, we got to see Nadia and Renee die gruesome deaths on Alias followed by Ana-Lucia and Libby getting blown away at the end of Lost. I don't know whether there's any significance to the fact that they were all women. But I would suggest that, for one night's viewing line-up, four was something of an excessive body count.
Also, from the previews, it looks like Mr. Eko might be killed next week (but of course you can't believe too much of what you see either in previews or the actual show.) If he dies, they will have killed off all but one of the major characters from the tail section of the plane. Actually, this is probably a pretty good strategy for Lost. Since we aren't likely to get to know many of the other survivors very well, they can just keep introducing new characters at the beginning of every season whom they can kill once we get to know them. That way, the show stays hard-edged and gritty, but we don't have to worry about losing Kate or Sawyer or Jin.
Anyhow, I have this idea about how to wrap up Alias. Now that Sloane has accidentally killed his daughter while trying to protect page 47 of the Rambaldi manuscript -- this was his Anakin to Darth Vader transitional moment, btw; he's more machine now than man, twisted and evil -- I think we have an opportunity for an interesting end to the show. This cabal of Rambaldi enthusiasts that Sloane has joined up with -- maybe they've been working on a long-term super-secret project related to Rambaldi technology. Maybe the project involved animals and a series of numbers and isolation on a remote island. Maybe it went by a code name...like Karma or Dharma or something like that.
Just a thought...
April 18, 2006
I Don't Know What's More Exciting
...that we're finally going to see the sequel that we've all been waiting for, or that cryonics is finally getting the serious attention it deserves.
April 15, 2006
Help Wanted
We need some gifted young PHPer to add some functionality to our future prediction website over on Ning. I want to combine the scenario entry function with a more elaborate rating function, one that allows comments -- like this. Numerical ratings are better than the thumbs-up/thumbs-down thing. And I want people to be able to comment on scenarios they like or think are totally whacked.
Ning will allow you to clone any other app, but I can't figure out how to make these two work together.
Anyone?
UPDATE: Sorry for the inadvertant ageism in the opening line. We'll talk to a gifted PHPer of any age!
April 04, 2006
Size Matters
I think Lileks would have liked King Kong better if he had seen it on the big screen. I took my Dad to see it at the dollar cinema over the weekend. It was the second time for me.
I agree with most of the criticisms Lileks raises. Yes, there is no reason for a t-rex to abandon a huge haunch of meat in favor of a tiny morsel. And I noticed how quickly the night passed in Manhattan. Although, for that business about how long it takes to get from Times Square to the Empire State Building -- come on. Kong wandered the back alleys for a while, there. Maybe he even crossed over into Jersey -- like he did in the truly bad remake back in the 70's, only in reverse. Then he came back. You know, killed some time.
I would add some criticisms of my own. The first mate of the Venture is kind of tiresome and condescending whenever he lectures the kid from the streets.
"No, Jimmy, it's not an adventure story."
Er, right.
And not only do the dinosaur fights go on too long, but everybody would have died in that initial brontosaurus stampede. My Dad pointed that out while it was going on.
Even so, this isn't really about willing suspension of disbelief. It's about getting with the spirit of the thing. Sometimes that requires being in a big, crowded room with lots of people around (especially kids) and watching the spectacle unfold the way it was meant to. Anyhow, I liked it in spite of all those objections.
On the other hand, there's also the fact that Kong reminds me a lot of someone I love:
UPDATE: Rand Simberg is with Lileks on this one.
March 24, 2006
I Know This One
I believe it's a Ford F150. But they aren't doing as much product placement as they were in earlier seasons. Plus, at the start of this "day," Jack was living a secret life in hiding. I still think he had a pickup, though.
On a somewhat related note, Mulder and Sculley always drove a standard government-issue Ford Taurus.
Anyhow, I write all this in the hopes that I will neither be killed nor forced to kill anyone. But if I must die, I hope I don't go the way...
[...spoilers ahead...]
March 16, 2006
Basic Education Needed
I think we need to make some basic cultural education happen at the Pentagon, and quick. I mean, haven't these people ever seen any monster movies? Don't they know how these things always end?
February 08, 2006
The Difference Engine
You must check this out:
Before the day of computers and pocket calculators all mathematics was done by hand. Great effort was expended to compose trigonometric and logarithmic tables for navigation, scientific investigation, and engineering purposes.
In the mid-19th century, people began to design machines to automate this error prone process. Many machines of various designs were eventually built. The most famous of these machines is the Babbage Difference Engine.
Babbage's design could evaluate 7th order polynomials to 31 digits of accuracy. I set out to build a working Difference Engine using LEGO parts which could compute 2nd or 3rd order polynomials to 3 or 4 digits.
One may well ask what possible point there could be in building a mechanical calculating machine using a 19th century design and 21st century plastic toy blocks. The only possible answer to that is -- hey, it's a lot easier than those heavy metal discs that babbage originally had in mind. Besides, it's important that we understand mechanical computers. They're the wave of the future.
Bonus: the page has lots of good background on how a difference engine works.
Via GeekPress.
January 24, 2006
Maybe Not I, But it T for S
Via GeekPress, check out this intelligence test that probably is not that great a measure of intelligence, but that must be a good test for something. There's no time limit. The object is to get the best possible score out of 33. I managed 31 after dazzling myself with my own brilliance on several of them and pulling a couple of them out of the clear blue sky. (I'm still working on the other two...they're driving me crazy.)
By way of a hint, I will only say that Americans are more likely to know the answers to some of these and less likely to know the answers to others. Hope that helps!
UPDATE: Got the other two thanks to help from the SpecuWife and El Jefe. Muchos gracias, amigos. They were two of the easiest ones. For some reason, the hard ones are easier than the easy ones...which are really hard!
December 21, 2005
That's it for Firefly
Entertainment weekly reports:
When Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon looks back on 2005, he can take comfort in knowing that his film-directing debut, the sci-fi Western Serenity, resurrected his canceled-too-soon cult classic TV series Firefly, and was also one of the year's best-reviewed movies. ''I should say I'm above reading reviews,'' he says. ''But I would be lying.'' Alas, Whedon's fond memories are also tainted by Serenity's status as a franchise nonstarter; despite Universal's best marketing efforts, the film only mustered $25 million. ''In the end, it was what it was: a tough sell,'' says Whedon, adding that it appears the Firefly saga has reached its conclusion. He has no regrets — and he's moving on.
That's a real shame. I wonder if the failure of Serenity has anything to tell us about the real sway that the blogosphere has? The free screening looked like a Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash, and we all wrote about the film in favorable terms...yet it flopped.
Maybe we're up to facilitating change in the lesser world of politics, but we're not quite ready to to take on the big time: popular e